READ THE CITIZENS' VOICE

Digital Only Subscription
Read the digital e-Edition of The Citizens' Voice on your PC or mobile device, and have 24/7 access to breaking news, local sports, contests, and more at citizensvoice.com or on our mobile apps.

Digital Services
Have news alerts sent to your mobile device or email, read the e-Edition, sign up for daily newsletters, enter contests, take quizzes, download our mobile apps and see the latest e-circulars.

Contact Us
See department contacts, frequently asked questions, request customer service support, submit a photo or place an ad.

Penn State's O'Brien happy with recruiting class

Article Tools

STATE COLLEGE - Last summer, in the days following the NCAA sanctions that dramatically altered the landscape of Penn State's football program, confused recruits descended on campus.

There were eight players in the seats of the Lasch Football Building's auditorium, either top recruits who were strongly considering scholarship offers or already committed to the program. There was one coach in the seat at the front of the room, trying to convince them that a different Penn State still offered the same opportunities.

During Wednesday's National Letter of Intent signing day, as he announced his 17-member recruiting class of 2013 from the same room that meeting took place, coach Bill O'Brien beamed.

"We feel very positive about this class, for many reasons," O'Brien said. "When I was hired here, the first thing we did after I met the football team was delve into recruiting. What we want to eventually have here is a smart team, a high character team, a big, fast, physical football team. I think we've done that with this recruiting class."

The class came together as the conventional wisdom of recent days said it would. No prospect who hadn't already verbally committed to the Nittany Lions signed with the team Wednesday. No prospect backed away from his commitment, either.

So, Penn State landed the top quarterback prospect it pined for in Pennsylvania native Christian Hackenberg, rebuilt the defensive end position with the highly recruited New Jersey product Garrett Sickels and dynamic Curtis Cothran of Council Rock North, and added a few blue-chip offensive line prospects in New Jersey guard Brendan Mahon and Hershey tackle Andrew Nelson.

Five others - running back Richy Anderson, tight end Adam Breneman, quarterback Tyler Ferguson, cornerback Jordan Smith and corner Anthony Smith - committed to and enrolled in the university in January.

Due to the 15-scholarship limit - only the 12 who signed Wednesday count against that number - the Nittany Lions' national ranking suffered, according to national recruiting experts. Rivals.com ranked Penn State just 43rd in the country. Scout.com had it 44th.

But O'Brien said he pays little attention to the experts. "This staff is not about collec ting talent," he said. "It's about building a team."

That didn't always prove to be easy.

"Certainly, we lost some guys because of the sanctions. There's just no question about it. I'm not going to sit up here and tell you the sanctions didn't play a factor with some of the guys we set out to recruit," O'Brien said. "But at the end of the day, all I'm concerned about are the guys who are here."

A 6-foot-4 quarterback who received a five-star ranking from some services and was ranked as the No. 1 pocket passer in the nation by ESPN Recruiting Nation, Hackenberg had plenty of suitors.

Many of them didn't much care that Hackenberg committed to the Penn State program last February, using the sanctions freely when arguing that he should re-open his recruitment - especially if it included more consideration for their school.

In the end and through the sanctions, Hackenberg never seriously wavered on his commitment to O'Brien and his staff.

"It was a year-long process," recruiting coordinator Charles London said. "But Christian is a Pennsylvania kid who I think maybe had some aspirations to play here. It was a chore. There were other kids still coming after him these past 12 months. But we had a good relationship that he built with our staff here. We feel good about him."

O'Brien said he likely wouldn't be able to name a starting quarterback after spring camp ends in April, but he did add that any of his three scholarship quarterbacks - Hackenberg, Ferguson or sophomore Steven Bench - could be in line to start the Aug. 31 season opener against Syracuse.

As for the rest of the class, London said he sees potential for many players to contribute immediately, especially as part of the special teams units.

"It's kind of far off, and it's tough to project, but I think they'll get an opportunity," London said.

Contact the writer: dcollins@timesshamrock.com @psubst on Twitter

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.